The Nephites were also guilty of willful starvation of the females (v. 16). Thus Mormon laments over the depravity of his people. Living without order is more than lawlessness, it us brutality. Without mercy there is no consideration for the poor, the afflicted, and the old or young. They had reached the point where there was no humanity left in them, and only the power of God could correct the situation. To delight in everything except that which is good is the nature of evil (vv. 18–19). It is seeking “for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head” (Helaman 13:38). The abominations of the people were beyond any verbal or written expressions to describe (Moroni 9:19). They were without principle and past feeling and without the light of Christ as their conscience (v. 20). Laman and Lemuel were past feeling (1 Nephi 17:45); but Lehi, Nephi, and Sam could still reason with them. The Nephites at the time of Mormon were worse than the Lamanites (Moroni 9:21). Mormon knew that God was aware of their depravity, and thus he needed to recognize it before God (v. 21).